Celtic Knot
by Zane's Girl- Jo
Summary: Fi returns to Ireland for her grandfather's funeral, and finds herself wrapped up in a mystery concerning the O'Shannon family. Set two years after Banshee.
1. Chapter 1

**Celtic Knot**

**Rifiuto: Non Miriena**

**Summary: Fi returns to Ireland for her grandfather's funeral, and finds herself wrapped up in a mystery concerning the O'Shannon family. Set two years after _Banshee_. **

_"This is what decides who's time it is to die."_

_"I won. Please! I want my grandfather to live!"_

_"The wishes of martaels 'ave nah power 'ere."_

_"But we love him! I. Love. Him!"_

_"There is a balance. Some die, others live."_

_"A balance? What balance? You took my father when I was three! How fair is that?!"_

_"It was not we who took him."_

_"What do you mean? Tell me!"_

_**_

The leaves crunched beneath my feet, as I wandered through the woods near my grandparents' home. It was seven, four hours since my grandfather's funeral, and I had to get out of the house. As I wandered, the moon followed, watching from a safe distance. After dinner, I'd slipped off to be alone, to mourn my grandfather in private. After going to the cemetery, I set out in search of the thing that had taken my grandfather. Finally, to exhausted to continue, I curled up on the ground and wept. Slowly, my fingers reached up, to finger the Celtic knot hanging around my neck. Grandfather had given it to me two years earlier, for Christmas, a symbol for strength. I've never taken it off, and I never will.

Sometime after I'd laid down, a scream pierced the air. I sat up, knowing what the sound meant: a banshee's scream, fortelling death, exactly what I was looking for. Slowly, I looked around, searching for the source of the sound. No such luck. Climbing to my feet, I gripped the necklace, and moved further into the woods, only to stop and come face to face with what I'd been seeking.

The same banshee I'd confronted two years prior.

Wrapped in flowing white, she floated above me, her long hair blown back from her face. She had most likely been very beautiful in real life, yet to have become a banshee, would have warranted a tragic, even violent death. I didn't move, barely breathed. Slowly, she floated closer, until she was inches from my face. Staring intently into my eyes, she parted her lips to speak, and I felt my breath catch in fear.

_"The balance was tipped, your grandfather's time was up." _

When I was able to catch my breath and speak, I felt my anger come rushing back in force.

"What are you doing here?" I cried. She backed up slightly.

_"It was his time."_

"No! It wasn't! I asked, two years ago, if for you to spare him and take me! And you took neither! Why now? Why two years later? And who are you coming for now? You took my grandfather! Who are you stealing from me now?"

_"We tell none of who we come to take." _

"Fine. Then show me." I whispered, reaching up to feel the tears on my cheeks. She examined me for a moment, before turning.

_"Very well. Come."_

I waited, before getting up the courage and following her. We moved through the woods, her leading me like she had that night two years prior. As I pushed the branches out of my way, I felt my anger slowly begin to drain, replaced with curiousity. The moon followed, casting her light among the branches and alighting the forest with a weak torch. Twists and turns soon trapped me in a maze of fog and darkness, with only the weak moonlight and the banshee to guide me. When finally we stopped, I realized we were at the same shrine we'd come to two years earlier.

"No. I won't." She looked at me.

_"You asked to be taken where we take them." _

I shook my head.

"No. You're lying. I asked-"

_"To be taken where we take them. Where it decides. This is what you asked." _

"But-"

_"Martaels don' say who an' when can be taken. This decides." _

I mustered my courage, and followed her through the shrine, passing evidence of my family history. I knew what awaited me at the end- Death. What decided who lived and died. The light hurt, and faintly, I could hear the cries of those trapped within once I reached the double doors. Slowly, I felt my feet leave the ground, and I remembered the same experience from long ago. As the wind whipped my hair behind me, I felt my heart begin to speed up.

"Who are you stealing from me? You took my grandfather! Who are you taking next? My brother? My mother? My grandmother? Who!"

She slowly turned her head to look at me.

_"I canna tell. Martaels are not to know."_

"I don't care! I want to know! I want you to tell me who you've come to take! I want you to tell me!" She turned away from me. _"Tell me!"_

_"The wishes of martaels 'ave nah power 'ere."_

She'd spoken those words to me before, and I took a deep breath, anger and fear mixing in my blood. I felt my heart pound harder, felt the light slowly start to curl around me, caressing my face in a tender touch. I internally squirmed to be caressed by Death. Finally, I turned to her, locking eyes.

"It's me, isn't it? You've come for me."

She broke contact, before turning back to me.

_"I canna tell. This decides who will breathe their last breath." _

I shook my head.

"It's me. You want me. _Well go ahead! I'm here!_" I cried, spreading my arms for it to embrace me. _"You took my father and my grandfather! Take me too! I'm the one you've come for! So go ahead! Take me!"_


	2. Chapter 2

**Rifiuto: Non Miriena**

**A/N: Sorry this update is so late. I had writer's block for the longest time concerning this story...**

**Thanks to anneryn7 and writerchic16 for reviewing 1.**

The light blinded me, but I didn't remove my gaze, I couldn't. If I was going to be taken, I needed to face what was going to kill me.

_"Come on! Take me if you're so desperate. Take me!"_

The banshee turned to me. Silent, she kept council between Death and I.

"You took my grandfather and my father. So take me too. If you want me, take me." I couldn't help the tears sliding down my cheeks.

_"Tis not fer me to decide." _

I shook my head. She was lying. I knew she was.

_"You took my father from me! I was _three-years-old_! I needed him! You had no right to take him from me!" _

She looked back at me.

_"It was not we who took him."_

I shook my head again, trying hard to swallow my tears and my anger. Death curled around me, coating me like a second skin, and I winced to feel the chill of it.

_"You have to take me, so take me! Please! Take me! You don't have a choice!"_

The wind whipped my face, and sent chills down my spine. As the light got brighter and brighter, I raised my hands to block its way, but I knew it was no use. Death would take me because it was my turn.

_"Take me!"_

After what seemed like several hours- in reality only a few minutes- I was back on the ground, and Death was receding; rushing back behind the double doors. My heart pounding in my ears, the banshee turned to meet my eyes, speaking words I hadn't heard for two years; only now, instead of being for my grandfather, they were for me. And they were just as chilling now as they were then.

_"You will not die... fer now."_

I watched her drift away, but her words puzzled me, and I found myself calling out to her.

"Wait! What do you mean for now?"

She disappeared through the double doors, ignoring my plea. The chill night air caused goosebumps to rise on my skin, and I slowly opened my eyes to see someone standing over me.

"Fi! Oh god, Fiona!"

Jack.

Quickly, he set down the flashlight, knelt down, and I felt his arms slide around me.

"Hold on, sis. Hold on. We'll be home soon."

I didn't register anything, nothing from the time the banshee left until Jack got me into the house. Vaguely, I felt the sofa beneath me, heard Jack call for Mom and Grandma, felt the soft blanket Mom wrapped around me, but nothing else.

"Fi! Fi, are you all right? Fiona!" The slight warmth of Mom's hands on my face, of her hot breath on my skin, of the cup of hot tea Grandma shoved into my hands slowly began to register on my skin. "God, she's nearly frozen! Where was she, Jack?"

"Curled up in the woods."

"The woods?" I met Mom's worried eyes. "Fi, what were you doing in the woods?"

Teeth chattering, I gathered my courage and whispered,

"Th... the ban... shee."

"What?" I noticed the other three share worried glances. "Fi, what banshee?"

"It came... f... f... for me. The banshee w... wants to take me... n... next."

"You're not making any sense, Fi. Lie down." Gently, Mom pushed me back onto the sofa, but I resisted. "Fi, you have to lay down! You're suffering from hypothermia. We need to get you warm! Jack, there's some more blankets in the hall closet, can you get them for me?" Jack did as told, as Mom sat next to me and took my hands, blowing on them and rubbing them between her own. I faintly registered Jack wrapping the blankets around me, and Grandma removing my shoes.

"Sh... she came for me... I... I'm next. She t... took Grandpa... and... now she... she wants me..."

"Hush Fi. Hush. Don't talk now. We need to get you warm. You can talk later, but now we need to get you warm. Jack, fill a pan with hot water." I heard him rush to the kitchen, and faintly heard the sound of water running. When I looked up, he had set the pan on the table. Still holding my hands, Mom reached for the pan. Then, before I could stop her, she plunged both my hands into the scalding water.

I screamed.

All I registered, was the hot water on my hands, and my mom holding me by my wrists, keeping them in the water. The screams coming from my throat sounded as though they were coming from someone else. I struggled and fought, weakly kicking out and attempting to pull my hands away, but Mom held strong.

"No! Fi, no! We need to thaw your hands! You're suffering from the affects of hypothermia!" Mom screamed, grabbing my chin and forcing me to look into her eyes. "Jack, how long was she out there?" He shrugged.

"I don't know. Three, four hours? Maybe five. I don't know, Mom!"

She sighed, and released my chin. "Hold her hands." Quickly, she got up, as Jack took her place, and gripped my wrists. He pulled me close, pressing my head against his chest. I heard Mom in the distance, as Jack held me close, and still, my screams echoed in my head, although I was entirely unaware that I was the one screaming. "All right, Jack, on three, I want you to take her hands out, okay?" He nodded, and not long after, I felt cool air hit my skin, and screamed again, feeling my skin begin to blister from the contact. Glancing at her, I saw my hands, fingers bent like talons and dripping wet, as though dripping blood from a kill, before she engulfed my hands in a towel.

As the towel closed over my claws, I blacked out.


	3. Chapter 3

**Rifiuto: Non Miriena**

**A/N: I'm not sure what Fi's grandpa's name is, or how old he is, so I guessed. **

_"No. You can't take me. You can't! You're lying! It's not real! Banshees aren't real! None of this is real! No!" _

A scream forced my eyes to open, and I sat up to it still ringing in my ears. As my eyes adjusted to the darkness, I turned to see someone standing in the corner of my room. Head down, she looked like she was crying.

"Hey! Hey!" Her head snapped up, and she locked eyes with me, before disappearing. I felt... almost a connection with her, as though we were old friends or family. Footsteps brought my eyes from the spot where she'd stood, to the door of my room. Mom, Grandma, and Jack stood in the doorway, worry on their faces.

"Fi, are you all right?" I looked up to see Mom hurry to my bedside. She brushed my hair off my forehead, and took my hand.

"What?" I asked, confused.

"You were screaming. Something about banshees. We thought you were having a nightmare." Jack said, leaning against the doorframe. I shook my head.

"No. I wasn't screaming. It wasn't me. The... there was a girl-" I cried, turning and pointing to the corner. All three turned to look, and after several moments, looked back at me.

"Fi, there's no one there." Mom said, meeting my eyes. I shook me head.

"She wasn't _just_ here. She was in my head. I... I heard her screaming. She was screaming. Something... the banshee! The banshee has her! It's going to take her... please Mom, you have to believe me! I'm not-"

"Hush Fi. Hush." She pulled me to her, holding me against her chest, as I fought to get away. "It's too much. The funeral... the burial... it's all been too much for her. I think we all need a few days to rest and let this pass." Mom said, holding me down as I struggled.

"It's not the funeral, _it's the banshee_!" I cried, pushing against her. _"She wants to take me and she wants to take this girl, I know she does! I know it! She took Grandpa and now she wants to take me! And I know that girl was here, please! Trust me!" _Finally, Mom let me go, and shoved me back onto the pillows.

"Fi, you need to sleep. You've had a rough day-"

_"Mom please! Please!"_

She refused to let me go. Sighing, I slumped back in defeat. Satisfied that I wasn't fighting, she removed her hands, and leaned over to kiss my forehead.

"Now get some sleep." Then, they left, closing the door behind them.

I lay there watching the door for minutes after they left, before turning to face the window. A flicker of light caught my eye, and I climbed out of bed, going to the window to get a closer look. The light would flash, and then burn long, before flashing again, like some kind of strange Morse Code. It seemed to be calling to me. Checking to make sure the others were in another part of the house, I grabbed my jacket and pulled it on before pushing open the window. Just as I balanced on the ledge, I stopped, and turned back. Sitting on the desk, was a scrap of blue yarn, with a key hanging from it.

I'd found it two days prior, when we were cleaning out Grandpa's things, and grabbed it, shoving it in my pocket. It fit no locks in the house, and I couldn't figure out if there was a box that went along with it or if it was just a key for decoration. Although it was a skeleton, there had to be boxes that skeletons fit. Now, I climbed back inside and grabbed it, tying it around my wrist, before climbing out the window and dropping to the ground.

Quickly, I rushed from the house, fleeing into the night, the flashing of the light to guide me. I moved through the woods, trying in vain to reach it, however, whenever I got close enough, it hurried ahead. The key bounced, hitting my wrist as I ran to keep up with the light. The girl's voice rang in my ears loud and clear, as though she were guiding me. The branches scratched at my face, but I paid them no mind, as I continued on towards the light.

When finally it stopped moving and disappeared, I found myself in a yard of some sort. Big and sprawling, there were stones scattered throughout the yard. It took a moment for my eyes to adjust to the darkness, before I realized that I stood at the beginnings of a graveyard. With some difficulty, I pushed the wrought iron gate open and slipped inside, closing it behind me.

Clusters of stones greeted me at every turn, families with names like O'Brien, Dohenny, and Driscoll dispersed throughout, crooked like teeth. Slowly, I picked my way through the stones, reading the names carefully. Eventually, I stopped at a name I recognized, and my knees buckled. Sinking to the soft earth, I reached out and ran my fingers over the name etched into the new granite stone.

_Colin Johnathan O'Shannon_

_1934 - 2002_

_Beloved Father, Grandfather, Husband_

My grandfather's stone.

It was smooth, fresh, clean. Untouched by grime and dust, yet tainted with death. I gasped for breath, feeling tears slide down my cheeks, and soon, I turned from the stone. It took all my will power to keep from completely bawling, and so I turned it inwards, shaping it from sadness, to anger. Turning back to the stone, I looked around for the light, losing my temper.

_"What do you want? Why did you bring me here?"_


End file.
